On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Captain C
We continue at the Kyoto Railway Museum, to start. The next day, I traveled to Osaka by commuter train (the station was closer than the Shinkansen station, it was a short trip, and my Japan Rail Pass meant I could take any train I liked.) I had two nights–one full day–in Osaka. The full day was mostly spent at the Osaka Aquarium and will be the subject of the following two sets, highlights from the rest of my stay are here.
One of the many cool things at the Railway Museum was the old school working roundhouse, which had a couple dozen steam locomotives of various vintage, including a few working ones that they used for rides.
Locomotives in the roundhouse.
The Bungalow is a craft beer bar in central Kyoto, walking distance from my hotel. I was supposed to meet a friend of a good friend of mine who lived in Kyoto, but unfortunately, he came down with the flu. So I went by myself, and enjoyed a Pale Ale from Kyoto Brewing Co., and the Herb Pale Ale from the Ushitora Brewery, as well as some delicious fried potato wedges.
The next day, I took the train to Osaka, arriving at my hotel about 3 hours before check-in time. I dropped my luggage off, and went for a walk along the Tosahori and O Rivers (basically parts of the Yodo River delta), which is a nice waterfront setup. I started getting hungry just as I ran across these street food booths, and decided to find some takoyaki (octopus balls), as they’re a specialty of Osaka. I was conflicted, as the takoyaki I found were delicious, but I was reading The Soul of an Octopus on this trip. I arrived at the solution that from then on, I would only eat octopus in Osaka.
The Osakatenma Kawasaki Bridge led to my general destination for this walk, Osaka Castle, one of the finest surviving examples of Japanese castle-building.
Another picture of Osaka Castle, this time with part of the skyline behind it, taken from the park which surrounds the castle. Most of Osaka’s buildings are relatively modern, as the city was bombed heavily during World War II.
This picture is from one of the highlights of a trips full of highlights, so we’ll pause here for the story. One of the benefits of being a semi-pro musician is having musician friends with friends and musical collaborators all over the world. In this case, my friends Dalius and On connected me with master guitarist and general great guy Wuji, who invited me to come down to this wonderful little music space/bar in one of the grittier parts of Osaka, and come play at a jam session (as I had brought my alto to Japan, since one never knows when one might get a chance to play).
So I took the subway to the nearest stop, and walked up to the space. As I was trying to determine if I was in the right place, a gentleman walked out, asked if I was Captain C, introduced himself as Wuji, and gave me a big hug*. We went in and I met his friends (some of whom were our fellow musicians for the night). We had a great hang, drinking beer, sake, and soju (someone had a bottle), and a wonderful jam session. First, I played with Wuji’s improvisational band (Yenbanwa)–we did some good improvisations, including on a Sun Ra tune I busted out when Wuji asked me “what do ya got?”–Discipline 27B–and I was kind and transposed it on the spot from Eb to E for the guitarists on stage with me (it’s a simple melody). Then, a fellow billing his musical style as “Punk Disco” came on with his electronics, and started a blistering set (‘punk disco’ describes it perfectly), during which Wuji, myself, and the other musicians came and went on stage to add to the mix.
In addition, this wonderful gentleman pictured here jumped in and sang with us during this set. If anyone has ever seen avant-garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas perform music, this was the vibe. I do have pics of myself onstage from this night, but I thought this photo best represented the spirit of the evening.
Unlike New York, Osaka evenings end at somewhat reasonable hours, before the subways stop running, so I rolled back into my hotel a little after 11, very happy.
*Dalius and On are extremely good references.
Most of the next day was taken up by the aquarium (have I mentioned I museum hard), which will be presented in the next photo sets. That evening, after the aquarium and some relaxation at the hotel, I ventured down to Namba, one of the famous neon and nightlife districts of Osaka. I wandered around, ate some yakitori and tempura, and generally took in the vibe.
Phylllis
While London and Oxford are still my dream retirement trip, Japan is coming up a hard second. Thanks for sharing.
JPL
What a fun trip, and I want to go. Herb pale ale sounds as though it would be yummy.
Laura Too
What a delight! Thanks for the narration, it makes me feel like I’m there. I have no talent for music but had a lot of musician friends. It opens a lot of doors, I’m happy for you to be able to share that.
Betty
What a great glimpse into Osaka. Speaking of the roundhouse, I grew up in a railroad town and a favorite expression of my Dad’s was “He is so crooked, he couldn’t sleep straight in a roundhouse”. Apropos for our outgoing President.
tokyokie
I thought Osaka Castle was destroyed in King Kong vs. Godzilla.
MelissaM
Lovely, thanks! Older kid wants to work in Japan, so fingers crossed we’ll be able to travel there and have a “local” tour guide with us.
JanieM
@MelissaM: In 2010 I spent five weeks in China with my son, who lived and taught there for five years. I stayed with him in university housing and had him as, in effect, my own personal translator and guide. Plus, his colleagues and students made me very welcome. We had lots of adventures! As a single older woman of modest means who doesn’t speak Chinese, I can’t imagine a better way to do it. Good luck with getting to Japan!
Also — great pics. And I really enjoy the traveler’s tales.
AJ
Such a wonderful post. I really enjoyed this, thank you!
dm
That sounds like a wonderful trip. I didn’t know about the Kyoto Railway Museum.
Osaka Castle is not really a “surviving example” as it is a reproduction. It was built in the 1930s, with a lot of concrete and not the wood joinery I was hoping to see. It has an okay museum inside. For wooden joinery, go to a dozen small Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples.
Still, it’s beautiful to look at from the outside. I was surprised that I was unable to find a postcard of it (and was lucky to be able to catch a photo of it illuminated by a golden sunset).
There are some surviving castles farther down the coast, but I haven’t been to them.
J R in WV
Just got home from an emergency trip to the state house for tax purposes — was very strange, like a tomb, no one there even though it was a “regular” working day. Evidently almost everyone is working from home but for the actual front people who meet with citizens like me. And winter started this morning~!!
Also did major grocery trip on the way home, filled my buggy up about half way through Kroger’s — will stop tomorrow after our joint opthalmalogist appointments on the way home. Need moar Milkbonz baddly!!!
Did not see these photos before I left early today.
Wonderful photo set, full of life in a different world. I have read a lot about Japanese history, culture and crafts. There are great Youtube video sets of Japanese traditional craft building with hand tools. Joinery on a building scale, as opposed to a chest of drawers, same level of skill. Amazing ability to work with wood with 1/64th inch margins — or perhaps 1/10 millimeter. Much harder than it looks.
The locomotive and roundhouse were great, but the street scenes and bar were my favorites. Looking forward to the Aquarium museum visit. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor has a great Aquarium which we spent a day at a few years ago with a good friend. There’s also a great book store nearby! Inner Harbor is a great place to visit, avoid evenings with home games, though. Edgar Allen Poe hung out nearby in the bar/restaurant district.
Looking forward to additional Japanese trip photos — thanks so much for sharing! Alto horn, huh? Great to jam with anywhere, any kind of music that Jams. Pink Disco? Wow!
Captain C
Thanks for the great feedback! The next two sets will be aquarium photos.
@J R in WV: I went to the Baltimore Aquarium years (decades) ago on a high school band trip to Annapolis. It is indeed an excellent aquarium.
While my main horn is the bari sax, I started on the alto, and it’s a good size for traveling (and the case can double as a carry-on bag). I’m very glad I learned to jam in guitar chords, as it means I can sit in with all sorts of players.